Brandon Ingram
Jan 17, 2018; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram (14) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George (13) during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. USA TODAY Sports / Mark D. Smith

The Oklahoma City Thunder (30-23) will host the Los Angeles Lakers (20-31) at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday afternoon (Monday AEDT). The Lakers will once again be without rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, who sat out of the 114-90 loss to the Thunder on Jan. 17.

Ball was also absent during the Lakers' 133-96 blowout loss to the Thunder on Jan. 3. While he missed the previous two clashes against OKC with a shoulder injury, Ball will sit out of Sunday's contest with a left knee sprain. Ball has missed nine consecutive games since the 107-101 away victory over Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 13. The Lakers expect to get the player back at the end of the ongoing five-game road trip. In fact, Ball is likely to suit up during the fourth and final regular season clash against the Thunder on Thursday, Feb. 8.

Playing against his hometown franchise, all eyes will be on soon-to-be free agent star Paul George, who has been rumoured to sign with the Lakers in July. Though George has reiterated his desire to stay with Russell Westbrook and the Thunder, several analysts believe the defensive ace will be a Laker next season.

The Thunder, having lost three consecutive games, will play their sixth game in nine days on Sunday. According to coach Billy Donovan, the team ran out of gas during the 114-100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

Unfortunately, the schedule doesn't offer much relief as the Thunder will travel to Golden State Warriors (Tuesday) and the Los Angeles Lakers (Thursday) before returning home to host the Memphis Grizzlies next Sunday. "We ran out of gas (against the Pelicans). It was a hard turnaround. I'm not gonna dispute that... But I think every NBA team has to deal with it," Donovan said after the loss, via ESPN.

The Lakers are coming off a hard-fought 102-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in which rookie Josh Hart registered a career-high 14 rebounds. Lakers coach Luke Walton started Brandon Ingram at the point guard position and the second-year forward responded with a season-high ten assists.

"I was channeling my inner Charles Barkley, you know, undersized guys. That was one emphasis Coach Luke talked about -- just go in and just hustle and play hard, and that's just a factor from that Effort I think was the biggest thing. After you get your butt kicked, you know the next game you always bring that effort," Hart said after the win at the Barclays Center.

The Lakers could be without Ingram, who is nursing groin tightness following Friday's game. Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder live streaming, Lakers vs Thunder live streaming and Lakers live streaming info follows.

Lakers vs Thunder live stream: Watch NBA online
Date: Sunday, Feb. 4 (Monday AEDT)
Start Time: 1 p.m. CT (Local Time), 6 a.m. AEDT (Monday)
TV Channel: ABC (USA), ESPN 2 (Australia)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass (Global), WatchESPN (USA), WatchESPN (Australia)